The essential idea behind a living trust is that it’s an instrument you can use to transfer your property after you die in a private, safe, and relatively cost-effective manner. Almost everyone creating a living trust can use these estate planning tools, and their flexibility makes them quite practical.
Knowing that revocable living trusts are useful is a good place to start, but you will need to be prepared to take some specific steps to ensure that you create and use your trust properly. Always consult with an experienced and qualified estate planning lawyer whenever you have a question about what you need to do when using your living trust. In the meantime, learning about the trust schedule of assets and how it is used can give you a much better understanding of this process.
Property Inventory
A lot of people come to an estate planning attorney without a specific plan. After deciding on an estate planning strategy, identifying your goals, and understanding the steps you need to take to accomplish them, your plan should becomes much more clear. One of your primary estate planning goals is often to account for all of your property and make arrangements for how you wish to protect it and pass it on after you die.
To begin this important process, creating a list of all of your property is essential. Begin by listing all of your largest assets, such as your home, investment accounts, or even valuable personal property. Using a spreadsheet on your computer is a good option, but if you’re more traditional you can simply write down each of the items you own. Write these down in a single column. In the column immediately next to the individual items, write down where this property is located. If you own the property as a joint owner, you will also want to write this information down as well.
Trust Schedule of Assets
After you have created a property inventory you can then use that inventory to create the trust schedule of assets. Creating a revocable living trust involves creating the actual document that states the trust terms. This is known as the trust instrument.
Once you have created the trust instrument you must then begin the process of transferring your property into the trust’s name. This process is known as funding.
The trust schedule of assets is simply the list of all the property the trust owns. As you go about funding the trust, you can use your schedule of assets as a checklist, marking down when you complete the funding process for each individual piece of property. Some property transfers will take longer than others, but as long as you have a completed trust schedule of assets, you can keep track of your progress.
Questions
Of course, creating the schedule and going through the process of funding the trust often requires careful planning and consideration. Always contact an experienced and quaified estate planning attorney whenever you have any questions or need additional assistance.
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